For fans of Hex Hall, The Magicians, Practical Magic, and Food Wars!Anise Wise loves three things: baking, potion making, and reading her spellbooks in blissful silence. She might not be the most powerful witch, but enchantment is a rare skill, and her ability to bake with magic is even rarer. Too bad no one wants witchcraft on their campus. Anise’s dream of attending pastry school crumbles with … school crumbles with rejection letter after rejection letter.
Desperate to escape her dead-end future, Anise contacts the long-lost relative she’s not supposed to know about. Great Aunt Agatha owns the only magic bakery in the US, and she suddenly needs a new apprentice. Anise is so excited she books it to New Mexico without thinking to ask what happened to the last girl.
The Spellwork Syndicate rules the local witches in Taos, but as “accidents” turn into full-out attacks on Anise’s life, their promises to keep her safe are less and less reassuring. Her cranky bodyguard is doing his best, but it’s hard to fight back when she has no idea who’s the enemy. Or why she became their target.
If Anise can’t find and stop whoever wants her dead, she’ll be more toasted than a crème brûlée.
Who knew baking cakes could be so life or death?
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I love this book! The world building is fantastic! Anise made me seriously LOL. And her descriptions… OMG. It made me so HUNGRY! Be warned: You might want ALL the sweet treats while reading. 😉
I thus this was a fun fast read. I would read the next book in the series. Good women power.
I’m not into witchcraft stories but the bakery aspect made it a fun summer read. Keep your expectations low and you will be entertained. If you love witches then read this book. Full of strong females.
do not recommend. the heroine is whiney
This is a good start to a new series. I’m intrigued by the way the magical society is structured. I had a few moments where I couldn’t take the stupidity of the heroine, Anise. Folks in their first year of college do stupid things and Anise is not an exception. The author moved thru it quickly. I didn’t skip any chapters.
I received a copy of Deadly Sweet by Lola Dodge from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Ink Monster LLC, for the opportunity.
What first grabbed my attention on NetGalley was the cover, I mean, did you take a look at that gorgeous thing? Hello! I requested access and crossed all my fingers, toes, and eyes that I’d be granted access to this purple literary gem. And I was! I was cutting it close on the publication date but I read Deadly Sweet in two sittings and only two because I fell asleep at 3AM Saturday morning reading it. Then as soon as my errands were over for the day, I settled in to finish the final half of the book that night. And I loved it.
I enjoyed my time reading Deadly Sweet, it was a relatively relaxing read with an easy to follow storyline. Anise and her fellow characters were nicely developed and they each had their own personality and tone of voice. She made some friends for the first time in years and she even managed to get a smile from the assigned bodyguard who has a perpetual scowl on his face. Most of all, Anise got to bake her heart out in that drool-worthy kitchen.
Deadly Sweet was well-written and very entertaining, from the immolation at the County Fair to the Thriller dance at the sleepover. The descriptive details in Deadly Sweet were pretty good. I loved the eclectic architecture of Witch Way. I truly appreciated how Ms Dodge showcased the eternal bonds of true friendship between Nora and the friends she’d lost contact with 20+ years ago by passing them on to the trio’s children, Anise, Blair, and Gabi. I could tell that Lola Dodge put a lot of her own experience into the culinary aspects of Deadly Sweet, nobody knows the baking world better than someone who’s actually been there and done that. I fell in love with Agatha’s kitchen and would love a chance to cook up one of my special recipes, maybe my chocolate bourbon pecan pie with a good fortune spell slipped in with the caramel?
What I didn’t like is that Gabi is introduced as this friendly and bubbly girl and it seemed that the author was building up for Gabi and Anise to become bosom buddies but then, she pretty much disappeared for most of the book. I’m hoping that Gabi has a more active role in the sequel.
It was rather obvious to me who the Big Bad was but I enjoyed Anise’s journey to discovering what I already figured out. It was like watching one of those cheesy horror movies where the entire audience is telling the vacuous blonde not to go investigate the creepy basement alone. I found myself yelling at my kindle at two in the morning, telling Anise not to do the thing that will probably kill her.
I enjoyed Deadly Sweet and I look forward to reading its sequel when the time comes. But throughout the book, there was also something missing, and I know not what, that made me incapable of falling truly madly in love with the story.
All in all, I’m going to give Deadly Sweet 3 out of 5 stars. I’m totally going to buy it and reread it in a few months, but it’s not a contender for my Top Twenty Literary Loves.
Check out the Deadly Sweet Blog Tour!
I know this review isn’t as in-depth as my others, but I’ve been dealing with a nasty little bug this week and I still wanted to get Deadly Sweet’s review out for its book birthday. So, please don’t hate me for the short review.
Until next time, darling readers, have a happily ever after! And if anybody knows how to get me some bake time in that kitchen, let a girl know!
Note: This review contains NO spoilers
Alrighty!!! Lola Dodge’s books are nothing new to me. So, I was excited to get the chance to read and review this new book, especially when it revolves around magic/witchcraft and food! Well, it is more like sweets… pastries, cakes, etc. Anyways, I loved this story! Yes! I just ate it all up from beginning to end! Deadly Sweet was entertaining, fun, action-filled, and had the mystery that kept making think of “who did it”?
Without the magic and baking, I think Anise is very relatable to any young adult trying to follow their dreams. Anyways, that’s where we find this main character, Anise. She’s dreaming of so much more, but can she… She hopes she does when she finds and contacts a long-lost relative that owns a magic bakery.
I have to say that Lola’s character development is so rich with complexities and dimensions that each character stands out individually on their own. The dialogue among the characters adds to the flow of the story, and adds to the mystery. The interactions among characters were effortless and worked well to create that chemistry among varying characters. There’s enough character development of each character to give readers a whole picture of them, but yet, still keep a bit of a mystery on who they are. I found that this first book is a good introduction to the characters.
Lola’s unique and creative world building allows the imagination to visualize the small town of Taos and the creative works of witchcraft that can be found throughout the story. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the varying magic making it distinct and specific to the varying magical abilities that each character has. Essentially, it was beautiful to visualize, even if some abilities are a bit creepy. As the story ended, Deadly Sweet did not end with a cliffhanger, but it did leave it open for more adventures in baking and magic for Anise and everyone else in the small magical town of Taos.
All in all, Deadly Sweet gave off some Practical Magic and Cupcake Wars kind of vibes. I enjoyed the combination of it all! It is an entertaining read that blended magic, fantasy, mystery…and baking. Lola Dodge has put together a well balanced story combining the young adult fantasy and thriller genres together. I look forward, excitedly (mind you), for the next installment, Sugar Spells, in The Spellwork Syndicate series!